This invention relates to articles that are temporarily worn over a portion of a person""s body that have an interface made from a conformable material and, more particularly, to wear articles having a removable interface assembly comprising a gel pad.
Articles that are made for temporary wear to protect a user from injury or from contact with an external object include those designed for placement over a portion of, or over the entire surface of, a users face, e.g., protective face masks, goggles, face shields and eye glasses. Articles are also made for temporary wear over a portion of a person""s face for the purpose of administering something, e.g., a mask placed over a person""s nose and/or mouth to administer oxygen or other gas to the wearer.
Such articles can also be designed to be placed over another portion of a person""s body, such as a sports cup for men, shin guards, elbow guards and the like. In all instances the protective article makes use of some type of interface material, placed on the surface of the article touching the body, to make wearing the object more comfortable. In known applications, foam is used as the interface material and is placed along a surface of the article that is designed to be placed into contact with the wearer""s body. Use of the foam material makes the article more comfortable to wear.
While foam is known for its ability to deform and conform readily to an adjacent surface, and thereby provide a good level of contact comfort when placed between a body surface and a rigid wear article, foam does not always provide a leak-tight fit. In certain applications, where it is important that a portion of a user""s body be protected from contact by an external object, it is desired that the interface material provide not only a comfortable fit but one that is capable of forming a leak-tight seal. An example of such an application is an eye shield that is used in the field of medicine to protect the eyes of a medical professional from contact with the bodily fluids of a patient. Another example calling for a substantially leak-tight seal is with a mask placed over a person"" nose and/or mouth for the administration of oxygen or other gas. The use of a foam interface material in such application does not provide a leak-tight seal.
Recent attempts to address the above-identified need have resulted in the use of alternative interface materials. U.S. Pat. No. 6,019,101 discloses a specialized nasal air mask comprising silicone-filled bladder interposed between a wearer""s face and the mask. The silicone-filled bladder is permanently attached to the mask to provide a leak-tight seal therewith.
Currently, the above-described wear articles are constructed with the interface layer, whether in the form of a foam or silicone material, as a permanent part of the article. When the interface layer of these articles becomes worn or otherwise unusable, the entire article must be replaced. Additionally, while foam is used to provide some degree of comfort to the wearer, in certain applications foam is not always able to deform readily to provide a most comfortable fit. In fact, after repeated uses, foam loses a portion of its memory function and becomes progressively less able to deform as needed to continue providing a comfortable interface to the user.
It is, therefore, desirable that such wear articles comprise a new interface construction that: (1) provides superior comfort to and improved conformance with the user when compared to foam; (2) provides a leak-tight seal between the wear article and the user""s body surface; and (3) is capable of being removably attached to the wear article to permit its economic replacement without having to replace the entire wear article.
This invention relates to wear articles comprising interface constructions of this invention that are positioned between the wear article and a portion of a person""s body. Wear article s of this invention comprise a body or shell formed from a structurally rigid material and having a surface that is shaped to fit over a portion of a person""s body. The body surface is configured comprising one or more attachment points.
An interface flange is sized and shaped to mate with the body surface. The flange surface includes one or more attachment points that are positioned along the flange surface to cooperate with respective body attachment points to form a releasible or removable attachment therebetween.
An interface pad is permanently attached to the flange, wherein the flange is interposed between the body and interface pad. The pad comprises a resilient film body that is filled with a gel material. The pad includes a contact surface that is configured to conform to a portion of a person""s body when placed thereagainst. Together, the interface flange and interface pad form an interface assembly that is releasibly attached to the body.
The interface assembly provides an improved degree of comfort and conformance to a person wearing a wear article comprising the same when compared to convention interface materials formed from foam. Further, the interface assembly permits the reuse of a wear article, by simply removing and replacing the interface assembly when the interface pad becomes worn or otherwise unusable, without having to replace the entire wear article. Thereby, extending the service life of the wear article and eliminating unnecessary wear article replacement costs.